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Viewers of the television series, Downton Abbey will be familiar with the character of Cora, who as Lady Grantham, is the glamorous American wife of the English landed aristocrat, Lord Grantham. This storyline is a reference to the widespread phenomenon in the late-nineteenth century of American heiresses marrying influential figures from the British establishment, and often becoming charismatic leaders of society in their own right. The current display at the National Portrait Gallery ‘Old Titles and New Money: American Heiresses and the British Aristocracy’ introduces some real-life Coras who married into the British aristocracy, enlivened high-society with their transatlantic charms and boosted the economies of flagging country estates. …

At just over 5 inches high, but around 67 feet in length, the printed panorama of the 1st Duke of Wellington’s funeral procession is unusually proportioned. It must be this extraordinary size, combined with the charming quality of the figures, which has long made it a favourite of colleagues in the National Portrait Gallery’s Archive & Library. It has always been frustrating not to be able to show this remarkable object to its best advantage however. Unlike many other examples, whose owners have cut them into suitable lengths for display, our panorama is still intact and at its original length.…